Exterior cleaning in Clareville

Pittwater waterfront estates on Hudson Parade and Taylors Point with boat sheds, pools and sandstone terraces, and hillside homes under spotted gum and angophora canopy on steep, sandstone-outcropped blocks. Most of what we clean here dates from 1950s weekenders to large contemporary estates, on steep sandstone slopes with natural outcrops, falling to Pittwater's calm eastern shore.

We work around Clareville Beach and the reserve, Taylors Point, Long Beach on Pittwater and Hudson Parade waterfront, on streets such as Hudson Parade, Delecta Avenue, Taylors Point Road, Riverview Road and Hilltop Road. The defining exterior problem is lichen and moss on sandstone terraces and outcrops, tannin staining on paths and pool surrounds, green film on timber decks, and mould under the deep eaves of the shaded homes.

The western, Pittwater-facing slopes from Church Point to Palm Beach are sheltered from the surf but sit under angophora and spotted gum canopy on Hawkesbury sandstone. Leaf litter, tannin, shade and humidity drive the staining here, and most homes are on steep blocks with timber decks, sandstone walls and long sets of stone steps.

Field note from Clareville. Clareville's natural sandstone outcrops are part of the gardens; we clean the built stone around them but leave the living rock alone unless asked, because the lichen on it is part of the setting and the stone underneath is soft. Nathan G, Founder

Planning and site constraints we check in Clareville:

• Bushfire-prone land across the hillside
• Pittwater foreshore and seagrass protection
• Heavy canopy and tree preservation

Run-off. Anything washed off a Clareville property ends up in Pittwater estuary unless it is stopped at the kerb. Northern Beaches Council enforces the NSW EPA rule that wash water, detergent and sediment stay out of stormwater, so we bund drains, capture run-off and vacuum-recover on sealed or commercial sites. More in our stormwater guide.